Sprinkler systems are installed in many commercial and residential buildings. They prove to be highly effective in extinguishing fires before the fire injures occupants or spreads.
A typical sprinkler system has a water reservoir, a number of sprinkler heads installed in or close to the ceilings at various locations in the protected spaces, and a dedicated rigid piping system that supports the sprinkler heads and delivers the water from the reservoir to the sprinkler heads. Each sprinkler head has a valve controlled by a temperature sensitive element such as a fusible link or liquid-filled vial. Heat from a fire activates the element for example by melting the link to release the water through the valve to extinguish the fire.
A certain sprinkler head design is normally held in a retracted state by the fusible link. Such a sprinkler head can be installed in a recessed position above the lower surface of the ceiling. The ceiling has a hole below such a sprinkler head. If the fusible link melts, the sprinkler head extends downward under pressure of the water in the piping to below the ceiling surface so as to direct the water spray over a wide area of the protected space.
Sprinkler heads often project from the ceiling surfaces, although newer designs have heads recessed in a hole in the ceiling with a cover over the hole. Projecting sprinkler heads particularly are vulnerable to vandalism.
One problem with such recessed sprinkler heads is that they are exposed to view through the ceiling hole. If a cover plate is installed to conceal the sprinkler head, the cover plate must fall away when the sprinkler head is deployed during a fire. The cover plate may also insulate the sprinkler head from the heat of a fire, perhaps delaying deployment of the sprinkler head. Whether recessed or not, sprinkler heads and the covers for recesses containing them are not esthetically pleasing. The industry may well welcome an opportunity to conceal sprinkler heads without the disadvantages of current designs.